|g3 professor g. b. airy on the eclipses 
landed b.c. 49. It would appear to have been a usual place of landing, at least m 
coming from Sicily. It is said to be a well-sheltered harbour (which indee is 
implied by its use as a shipping port for such large quantities of stone) ; an e 
great height of Cape Bon renders it an admirable point to approach from the sea. 
There can be no doubt that Alhowareah is the place where Agathoci.es lande^ n 
some maps there is marked in this district a valley called •Mady Abiad, the 
white valley it is possible that White Tunis may have been situate here. 
26. The adoption of Alhowareah as the landing-place of Agathoci.es leaves the 
question open whether Agathocles sailed on the north side of Sicily or on the south 
Le. I am entirely indebted to J. W. Bosanquet, Esq. for the suggestion that 
Agathocees may possibly have passed the straits of Messina and sailed on the north 
side of Sicily ; and I am also indebted to that gentleman tor the heads of the follow- 
ing reasons for supposing that Agathocees really did take the northern course. 
(A.) The distance from Syracuse to Alhowareah by the southern loute is about 
200 nautical miles; that by the northern route about 330 miles. Either of these 
distances is considerably less than we should expect a fleet to traverse in six dajs 
and nights (according to the usual rate of sailing of ancient ships) ; and, so far, the 
northern route, as being the longer, is the more probable of the tw^o. 
(B ) Selinus, Himera, and other towns in the extreme west of Sicily, had always 
been Carthaginian. Agiigentuiii had been maintained in the Carthaginian interest 
even before the battle of Himera. After that battle, all the Greek cities on the 
northern coast, and all north of Syracuse on the eastern coast, and even Camarma 
on the south, submitted to the Carthaginians. Gela alone was firm in the interest o 
Svracuse The predominant party there was supported by a Syracusan garrison ; and 
the town was so strongly fortified as to defy the attack of Hamiecar. The expression 
“ campi Geloi” of Virgie, contrasted as it is with “ Acragas magnanimum generator 
equoriim,” seems to imply a great breadth of corn-lands ; and we know from Diodorus 
that the harvest was just gathered in. It cannot, I think, be doubted that the pro- 
vision-ships, whose approach drew off the attention of the blockading ships, were 
coming from Gela ; in that case, they approached from the south ; the blockading 
ships therefore started towards the south to attack them ; and Agathocles, as 
soon as he passed out from the mouth of the harbour, necessarily went towards 
the north. ^ c -o 
(C.) The belief of the troops that they were on their way to Italy or Sardinia 
implies that they were on the northern route. 
27. I have no doubt that Agathocles did really take the northern course. But 
as the usual opinion is that he took the southern course, I think it proper to exhibit 
the results of calculations made on both suppositions. As we do not know the hour 
of day at which Agathocles sailed out of harbour, and as we have no information 
on the comparative rate of sailing on the different days, we cannot judge very pre- 
cisely on the place of Agathocles at the time of the eclipse (J^a.m. on the next 
morning). But it seems likely that the following may be near enough to the truth ; 
